August 2012

08/13/2012

I produced this quick sketch for the cover of project proposal and found the original photograph on the internet. After adjusting the perspective, I created a red pencil mockup of an active plaza in front of the building, traced the mockup with a felt tipped pen and colored the original sketch with markers. This simple process is very effective for generating design ideas based on photographic sources. My step-by-step is explained below:

Step 1 - Original Photograph. Because of the severe 3-point perspective of this photograph, I opened the image in Photoshop and adjusted the view in order to correct the vertical lines of the building facade.

Step 2 - Adjusted Photograph. I printed the photograph in color onto 8 1/2 x 11” paper and and then determined that the final drawing would utilize the center portion of the building but extend the image below the photograph in order to illustrate plaza activities in front of the steps.

Step 3 - Red Pencil Mockup. Using a Sanford Col-erase carmine red pencil, I sketched all of the people, furniture and paving pattern on trace. The mockup enabled me to establish the overall composition and scale of the space.

Step 4 - Ink Line Drawing. I placed a second sheet of tracing paper over the red pencil mockup and illustrated the scene using a Pilot Fineliner pen. In order to minimize my time, I applied very little hatching (gray tones) to the image. Notice just a few hatching marks on clothing, and in shadow areas.

Completed 5 1/2” x 7 1/2” Ink Line Drawing. I always scan my line drawings before coloring the original artwork. If for any reason the final color needed to be redone or the image modified, I could always reprint the black and white drawing and recolor the image.

Step 5 - Colored Marker. I colored directly onto the original ink line drawing with Chartpak AD markers. Notice that there wasn’t any smearing of the ink line because the solvent based markers never affected the water based ink line. I dabbed darker markers to give more texture to the pavement and building facade. The final colored image was scanned at 300 dpi and used in the proposal graphics.

08/08/2012

I am always thrilled to meet architects who can draw and sketch their creative ideas on paper. I am a dedicated advocate for learning good hand drawing and computer skills - and - knowing when to apply both towards any given design process.

My good friend and talented Las Vegas Architect Edward Vance, AIA (the good looking guy on the left) has perfected how to sketch his initial ideas quickly and confidently on paper. His drawings not only engage clients in meaningful design discussions but save him lots of time and fee by eliminating a more time consuming visualization process that involves computer modeling. Ed’s sketches effectively convey the 3-dimensional form of the building and place his design in context with the street, landscaping, signage and with people.

What makes Ed’s process so valuable is that these two sketches (the original thumbnail sketch and final rendering) took him only 60 minutes to create! Amazing!

Thumbnail Sketch. Ed created this 6”x6” mockup of the commercial scene in pen and ink with colored pencil to communicate the overall composition. The drawing was developed from imagination, not traced over any photograph or 3D computer model. He chose a classic eye level two-point perspective with an emphasis on the space in front of the restaurant.

Final Sketch. Ed placed a sheet of trace over the original sketch and created the final drawing in pen and ink, fine tuning the elements and adding colored pencil to highlight the materials and sky. Notice the very casual line drawing technique with deliberate overlapping lines. This drawing technique was controlled and meant to convey an “in progress” design - leaving lots to the client’s imagination, encouraging constructive feedback.